The Condiment Queen

Bistrotheque

Burlesque has been quite the buzz word in the last year or so. Transforming our after hours spaces from lollipop-sucking-arm-waving-booty-grinding to well groomed forties pop divas, lip synching trannies and crazed cabaret. Or maybe I am just getting older. Bistrotheque has been around for awhile now and is another of the multi purpose venues that seem to be propogating so prolifcally through the city. Downstairs, by night it is a small cabaret theatre and bar. Upstairs, by day and by night it is a white washed wall and dark brown wooded restaurant and bar. When I came for Sunday brunch, the only clue to the venues more esoteric incarnation is the grand piano with the pianist quietly playing show tunes at midday.  The ambiance is very much understaded fabulousness. I loved every minute of my brunch.

As we had deep dishing to do we started down into the courtyard with a morning cocktail – bloody mary for me (which was slightly less spicy than I prefer) and a gorgeous vanilla martini for my divine friend. Once we had finished these off downstairs we went back up to the restaurant for lunch.

While they offer a £21 3 course lunch on weekends we felt a bit too hot for that much food so we bypassed the broadbean, pea & bacon salad and the smoked salmon, potato and onion salad and went straight to the main event.

I had a perfectly roasted (not so much grilled as stated on the menu) trout (£14.50) which came with a lovingly dressed lentil, walnut and spinach salad - a perfectly satisfying dish. The Sunday Roast (£15.50) came with the most perfectly formed Yorkshire pudding I have ever seen as well as loads of buttery vegetables and a large, shiny, tender piece of beef which I was assured was all really good.

We managed to find room to share a gorgeously scented Vanilla Cheesecake for pudding which came with a tasty blueberry sauce.

I’ve a feeling I wont be able to resist returning to the beckoning, burlesque of Bistrotheque.

Bistrotheque
23 - 27 Wadeson Street
Bethnal Green
E2
Map
http://www.bistrotheque.com

Green & Red

I thought I had died and gone to heaven the first time I had a Bloody Mary margarita in New York I was of course exaggerating, since I don’t live in New York but now that I have found Green & Red I have access to them full time.

A delightful cocktail menu jammed with Tequila tasters and margarita’s was the first thing I leapt on when we walked in the door so I felt sure that the rest of Green & Red couldn’t disappoint.

And I was sort of right.

There are lovely, knowledgable staff dishing out the food of the Mexican province of Jalisco. If Mexico is the home of Tequila to us, in Mexico it is Jalisco that takes that claim. Regionality in cuisine usually spells quality and Green & Red definitely is the best Mexican restaurant I have been to in London. I can almost feel a collective pause, because there is a big "but".

An absolutely tiny portion of ceviche certainly hit the right note of zing with fresh lime, onion and corriander, but at £6.50 made us feel quite cheated and wanting more.

The ginger ninja had Carne Asada – small strips of tender meat with a lovely achiote chilli sauce (this burnt type of chilli giving the ‘bbq’ flavour’) I had a vegetarian main of roasted pumpkin with lentils, sweet potato and chayote which was again tasty but I thought could have done with one less orange vegetable and a few more lentils. The mains came with corn tortillas, refried beans, a shredded cabbage salad and a salsas to share. This made an enjoyable game of the meal – partly because its so easy to share this way. The mains were well priced at between £9.50 - £12.50.

The girl at the table next to us had the whole fish wrapped in banana leaf both looked and apparently tasted fabulous.

As usual I didn’t make it to dessert, but the churros and chocolate smelt amazing when wafting past our table.

So overall –  Its not quite street food, not quite good enough enough for the prices at least on the starters. Ill definitely be coming back though particularly to the bar, but as far as the food goes until we get some amazing Yucatan or Mexico City specialists like the ones I have been to in the states and in Mexico itself I am going to feel a slight disappointment that while its all good, its not perfect.

Green & Red
51 Bethnal Green Rd
London
E1 6LA
020 7749 9670
Map